Spinal deformities and injuries can require intravertebral stabilization to restore fractured or deformed vertebral body to a desired condition. Intravertebral stabilization can include the intravertebral insertion and expansion of a balloon to compact cancellous bone tissue and create an intravertebral void. Cement material can then be placed in the intravertebral void. Other techniques include intravertebral placement and expansion of mechanical expansion instruments to reduce vertebral fractures, and the subsequent removal of the instrument followed by placement of bone cement. In either case, post-reduction support of the vertebra can be provided by bone cement placed in a void formed in the vertebral body.
Intravertebral reduction with balloons and instruments can result in loss of support for the reduced vertebra when the balloon or instrument is removed to accommodate placement of material in the void created. Further, expansion or enlargement of balloons and expandable instruments in the compressible cancellous bone material can provide inconsistent results since the bone material can influence the direction and degree of expansion. Vertebroplasty techniques which include the injection of bone filler into the vertebral body can require the bone filler to be injected under high pressures with low viscosity, increasing the difficulty in controlling and targeting the filler material into the desired areas within the vertebral body.
There remains a need for additional improvements in instruments and techniques for intravertebral spinal stabilization which address these deficiencies, among others.